Class of '92 HEAD OF THE CLASS Billy Owens of Syracuse is the most gifted of the new arrivals, with an all-around game that has a touch of Magic

THE PERFORMANCE TOOK PLACE ON A summer evening on a windsweptoutdoor court in a little Pennsylvania town named Mechanicsburg. Itwas July of 1987, the summer before Billy Owens's senior year at thehigh school in nearby Carlisle, and Jim Boeheim, the coach atSyracuse, had come to town to watch Owens play in a summer leaguegame against a team of former college players.Owens had by then narrowed his list of prospective colleges tothree: Syracuse, North Carolina and Villanova. Boeheim had driven 61/2 hours to Mechanicsburg that day, and after the game he would goanother five hours, home to Syracuse, all to be at courtside for whatamounted to a glorified pickup game.That night, Owens sailed. Like wings, his arms and legs seemed tosweep him from one corner of the court to another. Boeheim can stillsee it: There's Owens, 6 ft. 7 in., bringing the ball down thecourt, changing hands, a righthander crossing the ball over to hisleft and then swooping in and scoring on a lefthanded layup,underhand; there's Owens soaring for an offensive rebound and seemingto hover in midair before snatching the ball and stuffing it; there'sOwens double-teamed but quickly dishing off to an open man under thebasket.Owens, at 17 a kid among the men on this court, scored 63 pointsthat night, and he shot, with touch, from all points of the court.''He had eight three- pointers in a 15-mile-an-hour wind!'' saysBoeheim. In all his years of scouting high school players, he hadnever seen such a performance. ''It was just a pleasure to watch,''he says. ''I don't want to sound corny, but to watch him play waslike seeing a work of art. I walked away from there shaking my head.I kept saying to myself, I've got to get this kid!''Owens has left more than Boeheim shaking his head. Basketball guruHoward Garfinkel, a codirector of the Five-Star summer basketballcamps, says, ''Going into college, Billy Owens is the best all-aroundplayer of the 1980s. He's a tremendous shooter from any range -- fromone inch to 30 feet. The 21-foot shot is easy for him. Very gooddribbler. Explosive moves. And what a passer! Passing is his bestthing, really. Left and right hand. On the break. He's so unselfishwith all that talent -- and that's why he's the player of thedecade.''Dean Smith and Rollie Massimino did not have much of a chance toland the player of the 1980s. Owens's brother -- and best friend --Michael, 20, is a junior running back on the Syracuse football team,and both his parents, Bill and Marsha, wanted Billy to wear theorange. For the youngest of five children in an extremely closefamily, those opinions carried weight.Bill, himself a three-letter athlete at Carlisle High, has attimes held down three jobs to support his family; during the 1970s,one of his jobs was as the nighttime director of a community athleticcenter where his three sons, including Perry, the eldest, playedhoops. The two younger brothers went at each other like warrior ants.Says Michael, ''I used to tell Billy, 'If you can concentrate enoughto make the basket while I'm beating you up like this, you can makeit any time.' ''At Carlisle High the brothers were teammates for two seasons. In1984-85, the first of Billy's four consecutive state championshipyears, he was a freshman; his teammates included Michael, a junior,and senior Jeff Lebo, who would be a starting guard the next seasonat North Carolina. The coach was Jeff's father, Dave, and under theelder Lebo's disciplined system, Billy's game blossomed. Stick-thinas a freshman, he had to learn to handle the ball. ''I was weak andskinny and I didn't like going inside,'' he says. ''I learned I coulddo more things with the ball than I thought. Mr. Lebo put it in mymind that I could make the other guys better doing that. Pass theball. Work it around. A good pass is just as good as a good shot.''By then, Magic Johnson was Billy's model. ''Magic's been my idolsince middle school,'' he says. ''He'd rather pass the ball thanshoot, and get the ball to the guys who have the best shot.'' Playingin the do-everything Johnson mold, Owens became so obsessed with teamplay that Dave Lebo had to implore him to shoot more. Says Lebo,''I'd tell him, 'It's time, Billy, for you to take over. You've gotto score more.' He was so easy to coach because he was team oriented.He loved to execute a play. He enjoyed running the fast break. Heloved doing things correctly.''By his senior year, Owens was 6 ft. 9 in. and a shade over 200pounds, and consistently inspired comparisons with Johnson,especially for the 53-point show he put on in March's victory overPittsburgh Central Catholic for the state championship. ''He scoredin all ways,'' says Dave Lebo. ''Inside, outside, on the fast break.Great passes! It seemed like every time he touched the ball,something happened. He completely dominated the game.''And now Owens belongs to Boeheim, who already has him working withthe weights. ''In another year, he'll be 225 pounds, 230,'' Boeheimsays. ''He needs to get a little stronger so he can play inside.''Boeheim figures to work Owens into the lineup as a forward and notes,appropriately enough, ''At 6 ft. 9 in., Magic played a lot of forwardin college.'' But Owens has already thought about life after college.''I dream about being on the Lakers,'' he says. ''I see myselfplaying a guard spot. I see myself passing, scoring, handling theball. I like handling the ball. I like being in command.'' It's justlike Magic.